Michaelsguardian.blogspot.com - A travel in scripture, Bible prophecy and the Word of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ through the eyes and soul of the last witness and chosen vessel, Michael surnamed Jackson

God: Reconnect to Him

The Conspiracy against God is about "The Word", and the profaning of His Holy Name within us. Adam fell in the garden, breaking the direct connection to God.
Jesus, the "last Adam" was a quickening Spirit, the Word made Flesh, and the only one with whom we can re-establish our relationship with God.
Michael's story is still unfolding. He is the one who is, is not.
But Jesus is the only name given under heaven by which we must be saved. Many are trying to rewrite HIStory.
We were given a help to instruct us. Learn more "here".

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Michael Jackson Know about Transitional?

August 17, 2010 – Michael Jackson Know about Transitional?

The biggest Loan Michael’s estate has yet to deal with is the Barclay Loan for over $300 million. The estate has to pay this or get it refinanced by this fall or the Jackson Estate loses it’s share of the Sony/ATV and the Mijack Catalog. The deal with Sony for Michael’s unreleased songs for $250 million alone should be able to cover most of this. But the estate executors have no incentive to pay off this loan.

February 28, 2005 – Don Stabler and Darian Dash confirm the deal as authorized representatives of MJPT and Michael Jackson. The collateral is ALL of Michael’s music publishing assets, 50% of Sony/ATV and Mijack catalogs.

May 25, 2005 – BOA sold the loans to Fortress.

Circa March 2006 – Fortress refinanced the loans by creating a special purpose entity into which the assets would be transferred called “New Horizon Trust”. This was done without knowledge or consent of Transitional. This caused a “fraudulent transfer” law to be broken.

The video then goes through the reasons Michael may not have even known about this. The video directs you to learn more about Michael’s representatives via an article published in 2005. Source

Article reads:

“But during breaks in the trial, Jackson says he was being pressured to sign off on a multimillion-dollar financing deal by Don Stabler, an associate brought in by brother Randy, his go-to guy on financial matters during much of his career.”

Further along in the article it says:

“"It was unkind," Jackson added. "It was mean. It was meanspirited. It was nasty. Simply because he couldn't get me to sign something that he wanted me to sign."“It wasn't the first time that Stabler teamed with Randy in trying to get him to sign off on a deal, Jackson claimed.

At a meeting in a bungalow at the Neverland ranch, Jackson said he had his mother at his side when he fought off another proposal.

"And I vehemently told them, 'No, I am not signing this,'" Jackson recalled. "And I just remember how angry, the intensity of the anger in the room. And so they marched out."

At the end of the article:

“The firm, Prescient Acquisition, is owned by businessman Darien Dash, who claims Jackson stiffed his company out of $48 million.

According to Dash's lawyer Steven Altman, Dash was due the money for helping Jackson refinance a $272 million bank loan and secure $573 million in financing to buy out Sony's half of the Beatles' song catalogue that Jackson co-owned.

But Jackson claimed he's never heard of Dash, a cousin of hip-hop impresario Damon Dash, and doesn't remember signing any agreement.”

Now back to the video:

It claims according to Michael’s testimony during a deposition on this that Michael did not know about Transitional. Then says that this was the perfect way for Sony to get the catalog, buy setting Michael up.

How would they do this? Lets continue with the video:

“Contact an entity to refinance debts and buy the other half of the Sony/ATV catalog. Put all the assets you want for yourself as collateral.” (as Stabler and Darien did for Michael)

“Break the Contract and the assets are yours.” (As Stabler andDarien did on the contract).

“Because Branca and McClain will not pay Barclay’s at the end of the year”

“Each of the term sheets stated that “By execution thereof, the undersigned (Don Stabler) represents that he is authorized to act on behalf of MJ Publishing Trust and Michael J. Jackson.” Each of these term sheets were signed as “accepted” on February 28, 2005 by Don Stabler as the “authorized representative of MJ Publishing Trust and Michael J. Jackson.”

Don Stabler, according to the NY Times article, never got Michael to sign this. Both Don and Randy Jackson, according to Michael’s quote in that article, wanted to “Take his head off.” So the questions I have are:

How did Don Stabler ever get to be an authorized representative if he could not get Michael to sign the paperwork? Did he fraudulently sign Michael’s name to any documents authorizing him to represent Michael?

During the trial, how could Randy work with someone trying to set his brother up, end up leaving this meeting mid-trial angry at Michael during a heated episode, then have Michael thank specifically Randy for his support after the trial?

Michael never heard of Darien Dash. Dash owns Prescient Acquisition. Prescient is not the one filing the complaint however, it is Transitional. Prescient was the original contact, they contacted Transitional who in turn allegedly secured the financing through Fortress.

Fortress is also the same company who refinanced Michael’s Neverland loan and sold it to Colony Capital. Fortress, allegedly WITHOUT the knowledge of Transitional (the middle man), sold the loans at Michael’s bequest to a deal Sony worked out with HSBC and Barclay’s bank. Source:

“Financially, Jackson remains in no position to cure his dilemma. Even though he refinanced his $300 million loan from Fortress Investments with help from Sony Music, HSBC and Barclays Bank, the Neverland loan was not part of that deal. Fortress would clearly like to get out of the Jackson business altogether now, so selling at auction is their answer.”

So now we know how Barclay’s got involved in this. Sony was so nice to help Michael out weren’t they? Remember the terms of the loan? All Michael’s assets. All of them.

Well, Michael may have never heard of Darian Dash, but Sony sure has! Let’s look at Darien Dash:

(Again, thank you Gina! God Bless you!)

May 31, 2008. That date, revealed here for the first time, is known as the "Liquidation Sale" among insiders.

Darien Dash, who helms Prescient Capital Group and is a cousin of hip-hop entrepreneur Damon Dash

And drum roll please......Entrepreneur Magazine - February 2000 "But Dash's wealth of good karma doesn't hurt. While providing Web development and Internet solutions for such clients as Motown Records, BMG North America, Sony Music..." Source

NEW YORK, July 5, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- DME Interactive Holdings, Inc. , through its subsidiary, The Girls Entertainment, is pleased to announce it has added the Rock Steady Crew (RSC) 29th Anniversary to the firm's roster.

UPDATE - Fresh from friend Vanessa: Darien Dash step-father Cecil Holmes is an exec at Casablanca Records which is co-owned by Tommy Mottola

Both Sony Music & DME contributions. New York Election Contributions . . . check and see who on this list was in Michael's list of attorneys. Source

Tomorrow, if I get time, I will continue with Transitional and Don Stabler.

Sony couldn't get him with the two accusations and years of press and media abuse, lawsuits and theft . . . So a switchback involving his assets, a middle-man finance finder and a continued attempt to drive Michael to bankruptcy and Sony comes to the rescue with a refinance through Barclay's. All they had to do is make sure Michael was taken out of control of his business. Now with their front man Branca running the estate and the world watching them, let's how motivated they are to pay off this Barclay loan before it comes due this fall.

50 comments:

And now Ladies and Gentlemen...here's where the double-cross takes place. (Of course this is merely my speculation.)

Branca DOES pay off the Barclay loan. In fact, I'm willing to bet that Branca has been investing in Sony/ATV for a longgggg time now. Eventually this leads to where Sony gets stiffed (remember...I said this in an earlier response to another blog here), and the REAL war between Branca and Bandier begins. Sony is fully expendable. Branca wants EVERYTHING MJ. Including the Mijac catalog. Remember now...Michael is no longer a living person. He's a BUSINESS.

Why do I say this? Because Branca knows what any shrewd business-oriented person knows. Michael is worth MORE than Sony AND combined with the ATV...well, let's put it this way in simple layman's terms: "Michael" IS Sony. At least, that's the "plan." That's my bet. Stay tuned...

I believe it's Branca's intention to perform what is commonly understood as being a "Corporate Takeover."

IF Branca (the Estate) pays off Barclays, and with the success of a MJ Renaissance--which has made MJ a "billion dollar man"--let me clarify: "billion dollar BUSINESS", this makes it fully feasible that it's not Branca's intention to stiff Barclays. Rather, it's his intention to regain FULL ownership of the ATV, AND lastly...takeover Sony Music.

When that happens...Sony will "become" in fact, "Michael." Just watch. That's my bet...

ladyaquarius1962, you've obviously done a lot of research as well, but I'm confused when you say Michael "is" Sony. How is that?? As a corporation, Sony is worth more than the Jackson estate, catalogs and all...isn't it? I guess it all hinges on what the ATV/Sony catalog is worth...correct? My understanding is the catalog is not worth more than 2 billion dollars. Mijac is worth about $300 million by itself.

@ Sandy: It's ok. I believe that Branca is not just a smart Corporate Lawyer...it's a very dangerously smart BUSINESSMAN. One thing that most of us " Amateur Sherlock Holmes'" here fail to realize is that it was Branca who had ALWAYS been given the credit of (and I quote many a reporter) "orchestrating Michael Jackson's financial empire." He BUILT Michael. AND...he always got a pretty hefty percentage for his "work." So...Why would he seriously want to destroy what he built? No way. Destroy the man? Perhaps...but NOT the business, which is what Michael is now that he's no longer a physical entity.

Michael now has the potential of clearly being a multi-billion dollar business. And yeah...you're darned tootin' that Branca wants a good chunk of that pie.

In the end, it WILL be a "war" of Branca vs. Bandier. Who gets hurt? Sony Music. So, Branca (via the Estate) buys them out, and therefore...Sony Music becomes "Michael."

I'm trying to find info on the value of the music side of Sony Corp. Still haven't found that info yet, but I still don't see how the Jackson Estate can "buy-out" even a division of Sony Corporation. The lagistics don't make sense. Yes, Michael is a multi-million dollar BUSINESS and yes, he has gone through an unprecedented renaisance this last year. Even if you want to say mult-billion dollar business, the Jackson estate is still not in Bill Gates/Warren Buffett territory. Gates/Buffet can easily cough up 10's of billions at a time.

To add, I agree with your assessment of Branca. He DID build Michael's empire. The guy is brilliant and concidered in the top 3 most powerful lawyers in the entertainment industry, and that was before he became executor of Michael's estate! I hate to say this, but it does seem like he is in the driver's seat for better or worse. I don't see anyone challenging him. I know this will sound crass but talk about hitting the jack-pot! It's obsene!

@ Sandy: Let's take a simple armchair detective's perspective here. Branca (the Estate) pays off Barclays. In addition, supposedly they've been paying off the Colony deal regarding Neverland (if the real estate biz improves--Neverland could be easily sold for get this: $150 million), and now remember...the State of California would like to buy it and turn it into a "state park" of some sort. So yeah, I think that this is why the Estate wants to get Colony out of the picture too. That's why they're paying them off. Okay...so we have Michael (the billion-dollar biz), ATV ($4.5 billion-- In 2005, Jackson's defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau, revealed that the song catalog had been valued at between $4 billion and $5 billion. The company's song catalog is believed to generate up to $80 million a year; The Beatles' hits alone bring in $30 million to $45 million a year. Jackson's other publishing firm, Mijac, which publishes songs written by Jackson himself and which is administered by competitor Warner/Chappell Music, is valued to be worth at least $75 million.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony/ATV_Music_Publishing)

Now, even though currently the Estate (Branca) only owns 50% of the ATV, you also have to remember the income being derived from that catalog, and the Estate's share of income from that investment. PLUS...Branca also derives an income from the ATV thanks to his employment with Sony! Uh hem...yeah...amusing isn't it?

I hope at least one of Michael's children is brilliant with numbers and wants to study corporate finance AND corporate law! I fear that there is going to be a lot of dealing going on before they are old enough and sophisticated enough to understand what's going on!!

This is where I believe people are going to be doing each other in. But Lady on your comment about Michael being the billion dollar entity, he was a billionaire before his demise . . . in assets.

Sony Music is what Michael made, basically, not the whole corporation. Sony Music and Sony ATV.

But before we start anticipating Branca's moves, we first have to figure out a few things already before us.

Don Stabler. Did he KNOW that Darien had as close a tie to Sony before he decided to make a deal with him?

Also confusing is just when Prescient and Transitional actually come in. I read that Prescient went to Transitional to obtain funding, who in turn went to Fortress.

But Michael supposedly signed the agreement with Transitional, not Prescient so if Michael did do that, or they falsified a signature (article says Michael didn't sign and ticked off both Randy and Stabler), then just where does Prescient come in? Where did the breech of contract happen? B.O.A. sold the two loans to fortress, without Transitional's approval or knowledge (according to complaint). This is just cause for filing the lawsuit, because Michael didn't pay the finder's fee, which was 9%.

What is confusing is that it says that PRESCIENT, not TRANSITIONAL said Michael owed them $48 million. Michael is quoted as not knowing about transitional, yet he is also quoted as not knowing who Dash was and he is the head of Prescient.

@ Sandy: I agree! But, the kids are being taken care of quite well, and will be for quite some time. Even if Branca pulls what I'm suspecting he will, they'll be in great financial shape. If not even better. The only problem is this...There is no "step-down" time clearly defined for either of the Executors of the Estate according to the 2002 Will. And as for the J3? Geez...they don't even fully inherit the trust until they're what? 40 yrs. old, I think??? That's a long time for Branca to run the show. Branca will likely be dead by the time ANY of Michael's children come of age enough to "challenge" him. (He turns 60 on Dec. 11th of this year.)

@ Bonnie: You're right...Michael was worth billions long before he died (at least on paper he was). That too should be factored in when "doing the math" of Branca's possible plan.

Anyhoo...as far as the "shell game" is concerned...No matter how this one is sliced there is definitely some form of fraud involved here. Without Michael's signature, that means any documents with such on it is a probable forgery. Serious crap is piled up here. But, in all fairness? My amateur business/legal sense that the whole deal is fraudulent no matter who has it. And perhaps even more amusingly...Does Branca KNOW about this stuff? Now...if he does...perhaps this is the "ace in the sleeve" with which he can ultimately bury Sony in their own BS with, because it helps the Estate (himself) overthrow Sony and take over that much more easily.

Either way, this whole thing is sooo very ugly. It's enough to give even a mobster a nightmare, I would think!

Bonnie -thank you for this very informative blog. During Michael’s anniversary, I have heard fans talking about this particular loan at the cemetery. That was the first time I heard about it. I tried my best to understand the purpose of the loan but I couldn’t get any answer, so I thought maybe this loan is part of the Neverland loan until I read it here that is not so. My question is what was the reason Michael took this loan?

I need to read this over and over again to really grasp what’s going on. This really goes over my head. Are you saying if Branca and McClain did not pay Barclay, Sony will pay Barclay and take everything Michael has?

jomc12 - That is why I caution people on throwing everyone involved in this transaction into the dog house. One party may not have known what the intentions were of the other party.

I cannot, will not believe that anyone in the Jackson family ever set out to hurt their brother/son. It's just not in their faces if you look.

I'm trying to put myself in their place and think how would I feel if my sister or brother was more famous/rich/recognized than I was and being told growing up that I was no good and that I had to "be like Michael" (which is easy to picture because I do have a brother named Michael, who's the youngest in our family) and would I feel any resentment?

Well as a child, I probably would have just backed away from the person who was saying that, but I have seen children that are on pedestals like that . . . I was the one in my family because of my singing and I did not like it! I was mortified and Michael being who he is was probably very uncomfortable with that as well.

The brothers may have had some resentment and like I said before, had their battles with each other, but I seriously doubt any one of them would be able to not only stand and watch, but help someone else take him down. No way.

You know...I've always had a problem with the Jackson family with exception to Janet. To me, it seemed like they relied too heavily on Michael throughout their careers. I think it's a shame really, because each have their talents and merits. The only thing that each seem to lack is faith in THEMSELVES!!! That's why it appears that only Janet made it outside of Michael.

Jermaine REALLY could've also enjoyed tremendous success, but his flaw is that he was too busy trying to be Michael rather than himself!!! Worse, here we are, 2010 and he's STILL trying to be Michael. That's why I get so angry with him. He needs to stop that!!!

Randy appears to be an excellent songwriter. He co-wrote with Michael, "Shake Your Body" for crying out loud! What happened there??? When Michael went independent of his brothers, his brothers should've taken up his indirect challenge to carve out their own successes without him, rather than allowing Joe to keep conning them all into those awful "reunions."

Anyway, this seems to be a theme for most of the Jacksons when it comes to Michael. But, do I see any one of them wanting to hurt their brother? NO. Maybe throw a tomato at him every now and then. But never harm him. Hey...I'm sure that Michael would've loved to when the situation was deserving.

This is why I can't help but wonder if Randy was possibly a "patsy" in this situation too??? Worse...is it possible that these people really were NOT just after Michael but the entire Jackson family??? Maybe they believed that when they took one out, the whole family would crumble? It's an interesting thought...

I think I understand Michael's thanking of Randy, even after Randy teamed up with Stabler. Michael was trying to be the bigger person and tell Randy they were still OK, even after what appears to be an ugly scene with Stabler. Randy is his little brother, and always will be.

I wonder if Prescient/Transitional has a copy of the power of attorney that gave Stabler the authority to sign on MJ's behalf. I can't imagine accepting Stabler's siggy on documents worth 100's of millions of dollars, based on Stabler's affidavit alone that he has the authority to bind Michael Jackson's companies. And without any attorneys present. It just doesn't pass the smell test.

I was just reading another blog called "Justice For Some" concerning the post about Transitional here...or at least that blog alludes to it w/o naming this blog directly. Forgive me for mentioning someone elses blog here, but if you ignore that individuals insulting comments, the facts they present do seem to make sense. It does make me step back and realize that no one has the answers to this convoluted mess, just "educated guesses." It makes for fascinating conversation but doesn't really answer any questions and just creates more speculation. (This is what so often happened to Michael during his life and continues after his death!) I mean no disrespect but there is no way to really know what is going on unless you are one of the players involved (Branca, etc.) or you're a full time professional investagator(s) who can access proprietary information. There's too much that isn't known and can't be simply Googled on-line.

I could be wrong and I'll be the first to admit it, but I doubt that the Jackson estate (Branca/Mclain) is going to make a play for Sony's music division. Sony has posted a profit over this last quarter and won't just give up one of its divisions, even if that division is losing money for the time being, keeping in mind that the music business has always been and always will be a cyclical industry.

Bonnie, I do appreciate that your efforts are sincere and you've certainly put a great deal of work and heart into this project over the last year.

@ SandyK: The whole Estate possibly taking over Sony Music via paying the debts thing is my musing. It wasn't Bonnie's. I'm just smelling something here that Branca is VERY Branca-oriented. He built Michael's fianancial empire, and is often credited for it in many an article. It just doesn't make any sense that he'd be willing to part with anything ESPECIALLY the other half of the ATV or Mijac because those catalogs are the very sources of the Estate's "bread n' butter." I'm looking for him to attempt to reacquire Sony's 50% stake in the ATV. I'm just merely advocating somewhat of a business-mindedness here. But yes...I smell a "war" between Branca (the Estate) and Bandier (Sony) over the ATV. When that happens...I'm betting on Sony Music being the loser. They're already under intense investigation for many an offense. A war over the ATV could potentially push them over the edge. But...that's my opinion.

However, I am still curious as to how some insist that Michael was worth more than $1 billion dollars before his death? Whether this value was on paper or not, why was he near financial collapse before he died? Why did he have to repeatedly refinance loans? Why ever get involved with Colony Capital at all? The $24 million debt on Neverland should have been no big deal for him, but it was a big deal! And it wasn't just Neverland, it was all his properties including the Encino property. I'm sure everyone remembers that he ALMOST had an unathorized "fire-sale" auction of numerous items from Neverland, which included the main gates, in April of 2009, later canceled by him via a law-suit. Some of those items were even displayed on the Today show on T.V. If he was a billion-aire, he wouldn't have needed to do that or do the TII concerts...at all. This idea of him being a billion-aire just doesn't add up.

@ SandyK: I agree personally with that. However, it is entirely possible that funds that Michael had were simply "erased" from the books so to speak and transferred to unknown accounts elsewhere. Yes, I'm talking embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, and so forth. But, let's face it. With these "bandits" ANYTHING is/was possible. Michael was definitely NOT as "poor" as he was led to believe. It was all "sauce for the goose". Unfortunately...HE was the goose.

ladyaquarius1962, yes, I can see your point here. In fact, this Dr. Tohme Tohme (sp?) character was someone that we know Michael reportedly didn't trust and shockingly, was even allegedly afraid of. Of course we all know that Tohme brokered the Colony Capital deal and is conveniently friends with Colony's CEO, Thomas Barrack, who IS in fact a billion-aire. I'll leave it there. Anything more will be pure speculation on my part.

Everyone please forgive me but I will not be on much for the next four days . . .have to go to S.C. to hunt for a house since we're moving there in October. I will be back on here to comment on Monday.

@SandyK - I read the blog "Justice For Some" you mentioned above too. You said, "but if you ignore that individuals insulting comments, the facts they present do seem to make sense". Can you please pinpoint some of the facts that make sense to you? I am very curious.

ladyaquarius1962 said... @ Sandy: It's ok. I believe that Branca is not just a smart Corporate Lawyer...it's a very dangerously smart BUSINESSMAN. One thing that most of us " Amateur Sherlock Holmes'" here fail to realize is that it was Branca who had ALWAYS been given the credit of (and I quote many a reporter) "orchestrating Michael Jackson's financial empire." He BUILT Michael. AND...he always got a pretty hefty percentage for his "work." ---------------------------------

I beg to differ with Ladyaquarius1962 regarding the above statement. Branca did not make Michael. Michael made Michael. Branca helped, with his Legal expertise but, Michael was the one that came up with the ideas and had the vision.

It was Michael's idea to buy the ATV Catalogue, he just enlisted Branca's help in brokering the deal. They helped each other become wealthy men but, did not kid yourself, Michael was the mastermind in a lot of his successes, not Branca.

"The Trials of Michael Jackson"http://jetzi-mjvideo.com/books2-jetzi/trials/trials160.html

-----------

Hi Bonnie:

The above is a link to the Epilogue of the "Trials of MJ". If you have the time please read starting from the 2nd paragraph from the bottom, on page 160, to the top of page 162. This section relates to the theme of this thread.

After reading that section, I was so sad because I was under the impression that Sony did defeat Michael and gained total ownership of his catalogue.

My question to you now is, are you saying that has not happened yet, but the possibility is there if Branca and McCain do not pay off that Barclays Loan?

I am asking because I just want to know that Michael did not die in vain.

If everyone is conjecturing about Michael and Randy after the trial, and Michael's thanking of Randy specifically in front of the courthouse, my take on that is: Michael genuinely thought Randy tried to help him with his financial messes at this ugliest part of his life (during the trial), and the messiest part of the Stabler dealings didn't become apparent til 2006 or later. Randy DID try to assist in this area, but he brought the wrong person (Stabler, totally unqualified and unpressional) to the table, IMO.

@ techlilinu: It's okay to disagree w/me. :) Yes...it was Michael's idea to go after the ATV after learning about that sort of thing from Paul McCartney. So, when opportunity to do so knocked--he told Branca to go after it on his behalf. But...as far as crediting Branca for the "building of MJ's financial empire", I'm NOT the one who said it. The Media gives him that credit. However, I DO tend to agree with it in many ways. Yes, Michael was far from an idiot. However, Michael also enjoyed spending "serious cash" like a drunken sailor as well. It's also been for the most part well-known that Michael couldn't even balance a checkbook. So, in my opinion that raises a heck of a lot of "red flags." If Michael wasn't minding his own personal finances (as he should have), that meant that he placed trust in far too many hands (like lawyers, accountants, and the like), and this is where his financial and a lot of problems began and ended as well because he (Michael) wasn't minding his own store so to speak like he should have.

techlilinu – I did not get a chance to read the article link you attached. However, Michale (the estate) still owns the 50% Sony/ATV catalog. Yes, that's right, if the estate executers do not pay the Barclay's loan due very soon, the estate will loose the catalog. That will be very sad.

ladyaquarius1962, yes, later on it seemed that Michael wasn't "minding his own store," but during the 80's and early 90's he was VERY much minding the store and very much invested in his own career. He has even been described as "ruthless" when dealing with accountants that didn't know his balance sheet as well as he did. (Ever try reading a corporate balance sheet? I've taken college level corporate accounting and it can be very confusing when determining what your assets and liabilities truly are. Very counter intuitive. Moving on....) Of course who could blame him! He's the boss and was paying them alot of money to help manage his very significant, and growing assets at that time.

As we all know, in '93 life got very complicated due to lies that were being put forward about Michael that damaged his earning potential. Ten years later, more lies were being forced upon him and the general public which further reduced his marketability and his assets. (Of course, the value of the ATV/Sony catalogue didn't decrease. The MiJac music publishing catalogue took a hit due to the sale of Michael's music being affected.) These extremely damaging and malicious attacks on his character clearly took their toll on him emotionally (also leading to possible prescription chemical dependancy) to the point where he wasn't as fully invested in managing his own assets as he once was. Hence the lawsuit brought by the state of California in 2006 for failure to pay his Neverland Ranch employees for a few months and lapsed employment compensation coverage. And then there was the Tohme episode where Michael appeared to give him a great deal of freedom to do "business" and even write checks in Michael's name! Yikes!!! Of course he was let go in early May of 2009 under the shadow of questionable dealings.

These are things that wouldn't have happened in earlier years and wouldn't have happened if he wasn't having to deal with and recover from an extremely humiliating trial and years of media abuse. Yes, one still has to take care of business no matter what, but try doing so under the kind of immense pressure he was under? (Anyone would forget how to balance a check book if that was the case!!) Anyway, I know I'm preaching to the choir here.

The only reason I bring this up is because the idea that he couldn't "balance a check book" shouldn't be applied to him as a blanket statement over his entire adult career.

techlilinu, I was reading your response to ladyaquarius1962 on Branca's contributions to Michael's financial empire. You're right in saying that Branca didn't make Michael. Michael made Michael, absolutely! As you said, he needed Branca's expertise in law to make his vision happen whether it be buying the ATV catalogue or the purchase of Neverland, among other things. The idea and vision started with Michael. However, it is still accurate to say that Branca "built" MJ's financial empire. I may want to build a house, know its design and location, but I still have to hire a competent contractor to do the work of actually building the house. Michael wanted to build a VERY big "house" indeed and Branca is a VERY competent lawyer!...:-) What great ideas Michael still must have had if he was only given the opportunity to make them happen!

@SandyK: Your response is exactly what I was targeting. Things seemed to be fine up to '93 but since that point, he allowed other people to run this and that, and the other thing on a financial level all too often. That's what opened the doorway to many a financial hell for him.

Mesrak (Mimi), I wanted to respond to your question about what facts make sense to me from the "Justice for Some" blog, minus the unnecessarily insulting verbiage of that blog.

From "Michael Jackson Justice" blog:

"August 17, 2010 – Michael Jackson Know about Transitional?

The biggest Loan Michael’s estate has yet to deal with is the Barclay Loan for over $300 million. The estate has to pay this or get it refinanced by this fall or the Jackson Estate loses its share of the Sony/ATV and the Mijack Catalog. The deal with Sony for Michael’s unreleased songs for $250 million alone should be able to cover most of this. But the estate executors have no incentive to pay off this loan."

From "Michael Jackson - And Justice for Some" blog:

1. The Barclay's loan has nothing to do with the MIJAC catalog and everything to do with the Sony/ATV. This is true. "Michael Jackson Justice blog" states incorrectly that it dealt with both catalogues. Please read Wall Street Journal article link below.

2. The $250 million Sony deal is paid out over 7 years. The Barclay's loan is due this fall. If my house note is due at the end of the month, the bank isn't going to let me pay it off with future earnings. As any home owner knows, they want the money now. As for the portion of the $250 mil deal that was already paid by Sony, part went to pay more immediate obligations such as the mortgage on the Encino compound, Jackson's condominium, Tom Messereau's legal bill for 2005, etc.

3. Barclay's does not have a lawsuit against the Jackson estate; they are waiting for a loan to be paid that is due before the end of the year.

4. There is NO clear proof that Darien Dash was hired by Sony in order to somehow conspire to take control of MJ's assets. This accusation is based on circumstantial evidence leading to speculation and misinterpretation. However, it does appear to be true that Dash was in fact hired by Don Stabler and Randy Jackson. Of course, Michael did not hire Dash and was not aware of him.

We all must remember that Michael was often the target of accusations based on circumstantial evidence that was often based on partial facts and 1/2 truths. Facts in his life were put together in ways that drew false conclusions. Please don't let us do to others what was done to Michael! It's far too easy to want to fall into this trap!

I've already mentioned that Bonnie has put a lot of heart and sincerity into her research and that is commendable, but there has also been an element of haste in the way some of the articles (Transitional and Fortress posts) have been put together and not enough effort in truly trying to digest all the information in order to conduct a thorough and timely analysis of facts. However, I also appreciate that this is a work in progress.

Again, this is meant to be positive CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and is not meant to be preachy, negative or condescending. I'm no expert myself, but like everyone else, I'm fascinated, shocked, concerned by all that has transpired over the last 12+ months, and many years in fact.

There's lots of puzzle pieces out there and it can be too easy to want to connect dots and come to well intentioned but erroneous conclusions.

I'd like to add one more thing from the "Michael Jackson - And Justice for Some" blog. This individual does try to convey a positive message about all the bloggers discussing Michael Jackson right now and I thought it was worth reprinting here:

"In reality, there is a lot to be learned from EVERYONE that cared about Michael. I will admit that even the "trinity" (group of 3 unnamed individual bloggers that essentially includes "Michael Jackson Justice") has information that is valuable. No doubt about that. Obviously, they care about Michael or they would not be so passionate. And this is exactly the point I was trying to get across, is that if we are united, rather than divided, MJ fans can truly accomplish anything."

Amen!! Great comment and I hope "Michael Jackson - And Justice for Some" uses this kind of unifying language more often! There are too many divisions right now.

I love this site and I also love Justice for Some and he/she is generally very fair and most of their criticism is meant to be taken in a positive way so that we dont get led down a blinkered path but keep our minds open to all new evidence. If people dont take offence or difference of opinion too personally then he/she is on the right track to unite all the site admins and fans. I applaud you both.My personal opinion only but I think of all the players only Branca is covering Michaels back even if some of that is for his own gain.

About Me

We are living in Biblically significant Times. Ironically it was the most persecuted man in modern history that lead me to dig deeper into the Bible and taught me more about God than any other human being on the planet. And that man is Michael Jackson.
I started a blog to defend him. I ended up researching him and learned just why they were after him. They did everything they could to shut him down. In the song "Cry" he said "take over for me", so that is what I am doing. God bless that man and his faith and strength

Michael And God

"Like the Bible says. A child should be leader of them all, and to be led by that kind of innocence. Didn't Jesus say 'bring on the children?' Be like the children. Not childish, but child-like. That kind of innocence."

Michael Jackson in the Martin Bashir outtakes

"Children show me in their playful smiles the divine in everyone. This simple goodness shines straight from their hearts and only asks to be lived." Michael Jackson Oprah Winfrey Interview

"I avoid using the term 'religion', because many people say 'my religion' this and 'my religion' that. Why should it be 'my' religion? I just believe what’s in the Bible with regard to which religion is involved. I simply believe.... I believe in it and I get down on my knees every night and thank God and ask Him to lead the way."

1979 Ebony Magazine interview

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